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Physical descriptions in military records
Friday, 10 July 2009
As part of the appendices to a marriage record, the groom had to submit proof that he had fulfilled his military duties. This certificate of the National Militia often contains a physical description. In some cases, the physical description is left blank, for example if the man did not have to serve because he had brothers in the army already. This article will give an overview of the most frequent Dutch terms and their translations.
Examples
See this Flickr slideshow of some of the certificates of the National Militia in my collection. After you hit play, use the button on the lower right corner to view the samples fullscreen.
Terms
The form itself
Dutch term
English translation
Lengte
Height
El
Ell, old meassurement (see below).
Duim
Thumb, old meassurement (see below).
Str. (streep)
Stripe, old meassurement (see below).
Aangezigt
Face
Voorhoofd
Stern
Oogen / ogen
Eyes
Neus
Nose
Mond
Mouth
Kin
Chin
Haar
Hair
Wenkbraauwen
Eyebrows
Merkbare teekenen
Obvious features
Handteekening
Signature
The values
Dutch term
English translation
Arm
Arm
Been
Leg
Blaauw, blauw
Blue
Blond
Blond
Breed
Broad, wide
Bruin
Brown
De
The
Dik
Fat, thick
Dun
Thin, skinny
Gekliefd, gekloofd
Cleft
Gewoon
Ordinary
Grijs
Grey
Groen
Green
Groot
Big
Hoog
High
Id., idem, identiek
Identical (i.e.: same as the previous feature)
Klein
Small
Laag
Low
Lang, langwerpig
Long
Licht
Light
Lidtekeen, lidteken, litteeken, litteken
Scar
Links, linker
Left
Matig
Moderate
Nek
Neck
Op
On
Ord., ordinair
Ordinary
Ovaal
Oval
Plat
Flat
Pokdalig
Poxy skin
Rechts, rechter
Right
Rond
Round
Rood
Red
Smal
Narrow
Spits
Pointy
Vinger
Finger
Vlak
Flat
Wang
Cheek
Zwart
Black
Example: 'klein lidteeken op de linkerwang' = 'small scar on the left cheek'.
The meassures
The height of the men is often recorded in el, duim (d.), streep (str.). These are old names for meassures. However, they have been converted to metric and are used as such. 1 el = 1 meter (3'4"), 1 duim = 10 centimeters (4"), 1 streep = 1 centimeter (0.4"). So if somebody is 1 el 72 str. or 1 el 7 d. 2 str., this simply means he's 1.72 meters tall (about 5'8").
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